New Zealand Counts Wildlife Cost from Oil Spill
Speaking from Tauranga, WWF-New Zealand Marine Advocate Bob Zuur said that about a third of the penguins last night were sufficiently oiled to need to be recovered, the previous night it was 90%. He observed that this may be due to weather conditions, and expressed concern for wildlife if more oil leaks from the vessel into the sea: At the northern end, the oil may be declining, perhaps due to wind conditions, and the oil isn't gushing out of the boat. A shift and a strengthening in the wind that would push it on to this coast and put the integrity of the vessel at risk. A spill of 1,700 tonnes of oil would be disastrous for the region's wildlife.
Maritime New Zealand reports there are 110 oiled birds being cared for at the National Wildlife Response Unit, the dead bird count is at 1,000 and there are also 25 endangered New Zealand Dotterels pre-emptively caught.
Mr Zuur said the impact is not just measured in terms of dead birds but in terms of the impact on the breeding success. If the team finds an oiled penguin sitting on its nest and collect it for cleaning, they could save its life, but it will probably mean that its clutch won't be reared this season. When left, it might die and the clutch would die in any case.
